Assassin's Apprentice

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse.

Assassin’s Apprentice is the first book in Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, which is, in turn, the first trilogy in the larger 16-book Realm of the Elderlings series. Nine of the 16 books, published from 1995 to 2017, focus on Fitz Farseer and the royal family of the Six Duchies, while the others provide important world building, including historical, cultural, and geographical context. Hobb’s books are relatively unique for their time, standing apart from contemporary fantasy novels that focus on the more socially important characters and broad action. In particular, the Farseer trilogy focuses on the internal emotional life of a child born to royal parents outside of marriage, with no power or access to the line of succession. 

The events of Assassin’s Apprentice establish many of the key dynamics that the rest of the series explores. The power-hungry Prince Regal becomes a bigger threat as the series develops, and the narrative continues its unique strategy by focusing not on the larger movement of his plots but on the children important to reclaiming the throne. For example, Kettricken and Verity’s ability to produce an heir to take the throne from Regal is a key part of the series, reflecting real-life historical anxieties in royal families about the line of succession.